You and I are alike in that we like to defend the picked-on underdog. To me, in a fight between Jennifer Kirk and Phil Hersh, Kirk is the damsel in distress and Hersh is the Big Bad Wolf, so natually I rush in to take her side.

I feel the same for Rachael. No matter what she does, she can't catch a break from the skating blogosphere. Every time her name comes up on a skating board there are ten negative posts for every positive one. And even the "positive" posts are grudging, like throwing a bone to an ugly dog.

To me, Sasha is not in that category. Some people like her, some people don't. For every critical post there is a gushing one. I don't think Sasha cares. She has millions of fans who number her among the all-time greats of the sport and who love her to pieces -- plus, in show biz, all publicity is good publicity.

See, I distinctly get the sense that it's perfectly fine to bash Sasha and make all sort of inuendo about her character. On the other hand, it's considered mean criticize Rachael's slow spins or whatever. It's not considered mean to criticize Evan's arm flapping or Yuna's unpointed toes or Carolina Zhang's lack of speed. You're right that Rachael is one of the most criticized skaters. But it is not the same type of criticism that Sasha gets. It's about her skating. With Sasha it's okay for people to call her "stuck up" and an attention-seeker and whatever else has been said about her. With Rachael, some people get all scandalized if her skating abilities are criticized - imagine if people started calling her names!

I suppose people are entitled to their opinions about a star's personality. But I agree with Janetfan that some of the comments about Sasha are made without any basis whatsoever and border on the irresponsible - like implying that she is faking an injury.

it's amazing to me that these posts are always referenced but I don't recall a single one being reported. if you truly feel moderators are ignoring them then jump on the report button so that you can be sure we've actually seen them. as a Sasha fan on this board I don't see it as evidently as it seems to be, what thread am I missing?

If you want to see implications that Sasha was faking her injury last year, just go to the Sasha comeback thread that was so popular last year. It's impossible to miss them.
I never said anything about what the moderators should or or shouldn't do though. I have no opinion on that. Like I said, maybe it's fair game for fans to say whatever they like about a famous person's personality.

I wasn't reading anything leading up to Nationals but it is true Sasha is not liked by all. But I don't think she was ever trashed the way Lipinski was years ago. And Hughes. Slutskaya got lots of negative commentary on her skating. Years ago it seemed MK was the one person on the boards no one dared criticize.

I think it's fair to comment on personalities as well as skating on fan boards. As for the Oly cycle, it does seem Flatt got all the snark. I think people defend her as she is very nice and humble.
I also feel her skating is very good, but I do see what her detractors are talking about. Everyone should be entitled to opinions no matter how unpopular or PI. What would be the point of discussion, then?

I wasn't reading anything leading up to Nationals but it is true Sasha is not liked by all. But I don't think she was ever trashed the way Lipinski was years ago. And Hughes. Slutskaya got lots of negative commentary on her skating. Years ago it seemed MK was the one person on the boards no one dared criticize.

EXACTLY. Nailed the point so hard that I'll bold it for emphasis.

And having been around here for 8 years, I can only fully endorse your point. I was often one "of those" that dared to go against mass public opinion and you know the rest. But unlike most of the few that did the same, I'm still posting here today.

You know, all this is really simple. It's all a numbers game. The reason one skater appears to be "liked" or "disliked" by a forum has to do with the ratio of vocal supporters to vocal detractors. If a skater has more supporters at a given forum, it will feel like that skater's fan site, of course. Likewise, if a skater has more detractors at a given forum, it will feel like that skater is getting dumped on all the time. And it's all about the numbers- one person disagreeing in a sea of supporters will just get hammered. But if 5, 6 people join in with the same opinion, the playing field evens a bit.

As for Lipinski and Hughes, unfortunately for them, their fans stayed confined to the fansites and stayed away from the general boards. So the general boards had mostly detractors, which in turn scares away the fans, and the vicious cycle continues. It usually takes the retirement of said skater for things to calm down. Even then, every time the name is brought up, the fire is re-ignited.

One more thing: poster-bashing in response to a criticism typically DOES NOT help the situation. It just usually leads to resentment of that skater's fans, and as an indirect consequence, maybe even the skater herself. In "defending" your skater this way, in reality, you're just opening her up to more attacks.

One more thing: poster-bashing in response to a criticism typically DOES NOT help the situation. It just usually leads to resentment of that skater's fans, and as an indirect consequence, maybe even the skater herself. In "defending" your skater this way, in reality, you're just opening her up to more attacks.

Bingo. There's no need to 'stoop' to that level. Then the thread goes no where and it's "who can trash the other's skater better" which gets us completely off the subject as it has to so many threads.

While being a "non-fan", RD has actually been able to - in most cases - see all sides so I'd give what he says some credit.

I wasn't reading anything leading up to Nationals but it is true Sasha is not liked by all. But I don't think she was ever trashed the way Lipinski was years ago. And Hughes. Slutskaya got lots of negative commentary on her skating. Years ago it seemed MK was the one person on the boards no one dared criticize.

I think that certain skaters have had good luck for appearing onto the senior skating scene in the specific time they did: e.g. Kwan and Weir are good examples for that. Their competitors who came later and have dared repeatedly to win over those who had already gained a huge fandom, have been treated very negatively on skating forums. Of course also they got fans quickly, but all the time they came from behind, so to speak. Lipinski (not my favourite) suffered from that negativity hugely and the same seems to apply to Lysacek.

I have read that Tara stopped visiting skating forums very quickly and I hope that Lysacek has done that as well... Anyway, I think that Tara was appreciated by live audiences and I know that for sure about Lysacek, who has a huge live audience support as he is performing in competitions or shows.